Creating Marketing Materials to Rock Your Interview
Your phone rings and it’s the interview you have been waiting for, ready for you to seize the opportunity. Getting yourself an interview is a huge opportunity for a new chapter in your career, now it’s time to prepare. There are plenty of resources and marketing materials that will make you stand out as an employee, but finding the right ones can be tricky. Creating these items is crucial to displaying your accomplishments for future opportunities. If you’re ready to take your marketing materials to the next level, start here:
1. Résumé
Providing your résumé to a potential employer is an integral piece of the interview process and is an opportunity to differentiate yourself from others. The Human Resources Department, who is in charge of hiring sees countless resumes every day, which means you need to ensure yours is going to stand apart if you want to get the call back. Rather than filling it will too many bullet points and unnecessary fluff detailing everything you did at a specific position, start with three really strong action statements. If you can captivate the audience with these statements, you will impress them with both your ability to articulate and your job responsibilities. The best way to start these statements is with action verbs that with –ed (Published, Organized, Coordinated, Planned, Developed, Etc.) There are resources to be found online that include the best examples of this type of phrasing. Click here for 185 Powerful Verbs That Will Make Your Resume Awesome.
2. Cover Letter
As previously mentioned, your résumé is of utmost importance, but a cover letter is going to be the first impression someone gets about you as an employee and person. A cover letter needs to be informative and to the point, not a life story. Being as effective as you can be in three short paragraphs is essential for the success of this document. Taking the time to personalize this is imperative, this is your chance to show them how interested you are. Starting with the first paragraph, begin the letter strong with a statement of who you are and why you are writing it. Stating that you’re interested in a specific position will help enforce the seriousness of your application. In the body of your letter, briefly describe any direct experience you have that will benefit the company in this position. Leave out anything that you’re not able to loop back around to the position you’re applying for. In the conclusion, reiterate who you are, what you’re applying for, two key experiences that you referenced in the body of the letter and give them a call to action. Ending a letter with “I look forward to hearing from you at the end of the week”, being very direct can help show them how serious you are about this position and giving a time frame will help to speed the process.
3. Portfolio
If you’re applying for a position that requires you to bring in pieces of previous work, creating a portfolio is the easiest and most professional way to display it. Establishing that you have blog posts, graphic designs, or customer reviews could enhance the positive image they already have about you. This could take form in a website or physical binder of your work. The medium is based on what you find most beneficial to your content. When you’re going to through this process, being able to show off your accomplishments in a physical way will make them more confident in you as a potential employee.
4. References
Finding personal and professional references to act as a testimony of your character, work ethic, and experience level is a beneficial piece to this process. If you’re going to create a resume and portfolio to display your hard work, taking this step is going to solidify that you know what you’re talking about. These are going to be people who helped support you through your career such as a mentor, previous supervisor, professor, etc. The quality of these references does make a difference to the impact they will have on your interviewers. Choose people who know the true character of you and what your work ethic is like. In the case of personal reference requests, choosing people who value your friendships and relationship shows the importance of maintaining meaningful relationships in your life. Commitment to people in various circles displays to a potential employer that you have the ability to commit fully to a task or building client relationships. For professional references, choosing a current or previous supervisor that you had direct contact with is important. This will establish confidence in the employer about your work ethic and professionalism.
These may be items that you already know or that you already have as a part of your personal marketing materials. Perfecting these materials by re-reading or having a friend/family member or coach look them over can ensure that they are concise and tell a professional story about you. The finished product will be able to highlight your skills, experience and personality for your interviewer. Going the extra mile to convey to the interviewer that you’re able to highlight the specific talents you have, shows the confidence you have in yourself!
